Cadillac Escalade EXT Truck Review
Truck Reviewer
The Cadillac Escalade EXT is a remarkable vehicle. Quite awesome in fact. It’s certainly big. It’s definitely powerful. It has class and refinement so you won’t be ashamed to take people out to dinner in it, yet you can quite happily take it to the desert at the weekend. More than that, you can fill the back with enough materials to start building yourself somewhere to stay when you get there! With the standard setup it comfortably seats five, but with just two people aboard and the clever “midgate” folded (which lets the rear seats and screen lie flat), you’ve got up to eight feet of load space. Perhaps only Cadillac would choose to blend a luxury executive sedan with a rugged pickup truck but somehow it works. No, the Cadillac Escalade EXT is not a vehicle for everyone, but around 10,000 people a year are happy to put down a considerable chunk of cash so it’s not just a fanciful design exercise. Out on the road, in everyday use, it is surprisingly well mannered. It’s never going to hustle around the bends like a sports car but, given its bulk, it is superbly composed and steers with a confidence and precision that many rivals would do well to emulate.
The Cadillac Escalade EXT is also properly quick. The motor pulls the near 6,000-pound body with satisfying urgency and you can feel the huge reserves of torque. Not that moments of boisterous behavior will disturb the passengers, cosseted as they are in the cultured ambience of the leather and wood-trimmed interior. Shall we talk details? There are three trim levels: Base, Luxury and Premium (although to be honest, Base is already a pretty high standard). The four-door crew-cab style is common across the Cadillac Escalade EXT range, as is that glorious 6.2 liter V8 powerplant (delivering a stump-pulling 417 foot pounds of torque and a little over 400 horsepower). It’s hooked up through a six-speed auto box and permanent all-wheel drive, via automatically damped suspension and 18-inch wheels. Inside the cabin it’s what you might expect from a range-topping Cadillac: Tri-zone climate control, multi-position seats, touch-screen navigation, 10-speaker Bose audio with in-dash CD and rear-view camera. All that as standard equipment. The higher trim levels bring with them adaptive suspension, 22-inch chrome wheels, power-retracting side steps, a heated steering wheel and a rear passenger entertainment system. Bluetooth and USB connectivity choices are also part of the list. There are further factory options to tempt you, but they are minor details. For all practical purposes, everything you need is included in each package.
Some people won’t ever get it, but for those who think the extraordinary Cadillac Escalade EXT might be what they are looking for, it almost certainly is. It’s bold, but it’s not brash. It will take you across the country without breaking sweat, towing 7600 lbs with it. Alternatively it can take you to the opera without putting a crease in your tux or your evening gown!
(11 Users voted, average: 3.27 out of 5)
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